No wings for you
by NoWings
Summary: Daryl is asked about what he did before he met the group. He starts telling them about the girl that he met. Days after he told his story, he and Rick get into a fight and Daryl leaves the prison. He finds her again for the first time in so long. (Story takes up 7 years in the apocalypse, not months as in the series)
1. Story Time

Daryl Dixon was seated a good way from the group contently picking the spotted feathers out of an owl he had shot when they were clearing out a house. The outside air was cool against his skin. The moon wasn't out yet, and here and there were scatters of stars. He looked up at his group. The fire was dancing across their smiling faces. They felt safe for once.

He was trying to ignore the conversation that his fellow survivors were having. Each of them telling their story of their lives before they found each other. The Asian kid was going on about him sneaking about, and Rick joked that he had slept through the entire thing. Lori was stroking her tummy and smiled as she felt the baby kick.

Daryl noticed Carol looking in his direction. "What's your story?" She asked him in her soft voice. Everyone turned to look at him. He was seated on the grass away from the people so that he _wouldn't_ have to speak about himself. He looked down at the pile of feathers in front of him.

He wasn't in a particularly sharing mood, he was hungry and tired and his back ached from hauling Zombies the entire day onto a pile to burn in the Prison Court Yard. He'd done his share of work in the past, all he wanted was to be left alone.

"Don't got one, an' if I did, I wouldn't be tellin' you 'bout it." He said and yanked a bunch of feathers from the almost naked bird. He stood from his spot and walked over to the fire to place the naked bird on the orange flames. "Just one story please Daryl." Carl said throwing the stick he was holding into the fire and turned his body to get a better view of the tracker.

The meat of the owl was sizzling on the open fire and Daryl's stomach growled. He could always lie and tell some story of him living in a cabin in the woods. but he decided against that when he saw the look of interest in Carl's eyes. "Fine, but don't you go on interrupting me."

Daryl went back to his spot and waited for everyone to settle, all eyes were on him. He stared at the fire and started telling his story.

"Seven years ago I was 29, that was when this all started. I lived in Georgia at the time of the breakout, and Merle was in prison in Atlanta. My dad got bit by a Walker and I shot him dead, not that I minded, I'd wanted to do that for so long. I was makin' my way through a parking lot when I heard a girl screamin' her freaking lungs out. At first I just kept going and ignored the screams and thought that she'd die in a few minutes, but then she was swearin' and I saw her on the roof of an SUV killing off Walkers Two at a time with _kitchen knives_."

He stopped and walked to turn the owl over, his mouth watered at the smell of the cooked meat. He sat down, not so far away this time and continued telling the group about his past. The images in his mind played out like a movie. Vivid red and green movements. He half smiled at the sweet memory.


	2. Fuel

He was staring at the redheaded girl who was killing off Zombies one by one with the two kitchen knives she held in each hand. She noticed him and yelled in his direction while stabbing both knives into a Walker's Temples "Hey Sunshine mind helping a girl out!" Daryl was taken aback, never in his life would he have thought to hear an accent like that in Georgia, it was pure English.

"No." He said. He frowned and stepped silently around two walkers who were eating what looked to be all that was left of a businessman. They didn't notice him until he was a good few metres away. Instead of running after him, the two chompers only continued indulged themselves on the faceless man.

He reached the other end of the lot and started for the Motorcycle store a few blocks east. With the roads full of cars, there would be no way he'd be able to drive his truck. He had locked it in a storage unit, not knowing when he might need it again. He kept his crossbow raised in front of him, counting the arrows he had left. Five. He wasn't going to waste them.

When Daryl had the Harley Davidson company in his view, a Walker noticed him, and came running unevenly across the road. He fired and the bluish cannibal fell to the ground. He silently rand to retrieve his arrow and hurried to the shop. As he enetered, he saw the Harley Davidson Sportster, it was tipped over and smeared with a bloody handprint. He picked up the black bike and checked the fuel. "Fucking empty!" he yelled and kicked the wheel. The groaning of a walker from behind the counter made Daryl reach for his Crossbow. A Walker on the ground was a harmless Walker. He decided not to waste an arrow on something that didn't even have legs, so he grabbed a sleeveless leather jacket from the racks and started pushing the bike to the nearest gas station, thanking the shop owner sarcastically on his way out.

Sweat was dripping from Daryl's face when he finally made it to a pump, he vowed to himself that never in his life again would he push a bike uphill for 6 blocks. Anger was added to his exhausted state when none of the pumps worked. He had kicked the pump a few times and cursed so loud that three walkers crept around the corner. He shot each of them in the eye and thought of a way to get gas for the bike while he cleaned the bloodied arrows on the armless Walker's shirt. "Looks like you're in quite the predicament." The voice from the parking lot said.

"I am not." Daryl replied angrily and placed his crossbow behind his back. "Oh, but you are. By the looks of things, you need fuel. I can get you some. On the terms that you take me with you wherever you're going. " Daryl looked at the girl, she looked much younger than him, and shorter. His eyes were concentrating on the curled strands of red hair, then they trailed down to her eyes. Could eyes really be _that_ green? He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Fuel first Queen Elizabeth."

Daryl stared as she picked up a bucket filled with dirty water. She poured it out and looked around. She moved between the mass of cars until she stopped by a small Smart Car. She kneeled down and punctured the red car's side. Gas pooled out and into the bucket. "You can't put car fuel into a bike." Daryl said as he gruffly took the container from her. "This car and that bike use the exact same fuel smartass." She said as she pointed towards each of the machines. "How you know that?" He asked as he watched her open the tank of the bike and motioned for him to fill it. He did so.

"My brother was a mechanic. He knew his bikes and what to do in case of emergencies, it saved my ass a couple of times." Daryl only nodded. "So, where are we going?" She asked him, going through her rucksack and pulling out a white leather jacket. Its sleeves were stained with black spatters of old blood and there was a small tear in the collar. "Atlanta Local Prison." Daryl said as he got onto the bike.

He kick started it three times before the engine purred to life. "I'm Gabriel by the way." She said as she got on behind Daryl. "That's a dude's name." Daryl mumbled as the black bike lurched forward and they sped off towards the highway.


	3. Pink and white

Daryl reached to the fire and put his bird on his plate. "So you took a girl with you to get _Merle_?" Rick asked as he leaned forward. "I didn't have a choice. I couldn't just leave an 18 year old girl alone. My heart ain't made outta stone." He said as he picked at the now dark meat of the owl, throwing the tiny bones away. "But _Merle_, your Psycho brother?" Rick repeated. "He aint no Psycho." Daryl said as he tensed. "And didn't I say no more questions?" Then his story continued.

They had made sure that the bike was well hidden before they made their way to the farmhouse Gabriel had spotted less than an hour's ride out of the city. Its walls were painted white and the windows were boarded, but the front door was wide open. They had needed a place to stay for the night, darkness wasn't safe.

Daryl took the lead with his crossbow; he could feel Gabriel was close behind him. They went through all of the rooms and found no sign of any walkers, until Gabriel opened a white door with stickers on it. A little girl was standing by the window, she was freshly dead Daryl noticed, almost still looked human, all except the fact that the right side of her skull was missing, showing off a light pink brain. Daryl saw Gabriel back away from the room and jogging swiftly to the bathroom down the hall. He lifted his bow and shot the girl, she fell and her pink satin dress trailed behind her.

"Gabriel. Gabriel?" Daryl said as he opened the door of the cool, tiled room. The redhead was sitting against the wall with knees up to her chin; she looked up at him with her pale face. "She was so small..." Gabriel said and shivered. Daryl didn't know what to do; he bent down and sat beside her, his arms on his knees and his head leaning back against the cool wall. He didn't say anything, he let the silence fill the room and comfort her... comfort them both. It had been so long since he had another human with him, four months since the breakout. For four months he had been completely alone. Trying to figure out where they had taken his brother when he was arrested.

"My name's Daryl by the way." He said as he looked at her. "Hi." She said, smiled a bit and stood up. "Let's get some water running and then find something to eat."He heard her say as he followed her to the kitchen where the electricity box was. She flipped a switch that said 'Backup Water Supply' and Daryl gave a shout of triumph as water started to drip from the tap. First only a few drops, then a thin stream, and finally strong water pressure.

It felt good to shower, he washed his hair and made sure to shave his face clear of any stubble that was growing. Never in his life had he appreciated running water as much as in that moment. The water wasn't hot, but lukewarm was better than freezing. He wrapped a towel around his hips and made his way to a room he hoped was the master bedroom so that he could find clean clothes. Before he closed the door he called to Gabriel to go take a shower.

The previous owner of the house had a large collection of military clothing. Daryl rummaged through the drawer and found a pair of dark brown jeans and some socks. He took a pair of Combat boots from the closet and laced them up tight. He found a black shirt from which he tore off the sleeves and then threw on his newly acquired leather jacket. The evening hadn't cooled down enough yet and Daryl found himself wiping his forehead every now and then.

The kitchen wasn't stocked at all. Daryl managed to find three cans of Tuna, a packet of stale crackers and a bottle of cola. He mixed the Tuna with some herbs and emptied the crackers onto a plate. As he was getting glasses from the cupboard, he saw Gabriel coming from the master bedroom. She was wearing a tight fitting grey shirt and bootleg jeans, her feet on the other hand were bare and washed pink. "That sure beats bathing in swimming pools." She said and looked at the food on the counter. Daryl heard her stomach growl and told her that she could eat.


	4. Laughing at the dead

"Why is your brother in prison?" Daryl looked up from the gas lamp between them. He had not expected that question. "Don't really know, he went to prison a few days before the first breakout started. My dad told me right after he got bit. So I spent little over a month goin' through all the police reports in the stations to find where he was." "What's his name?" Daryl looked up and saw her crossing her legs, the questions weren't going to stop. "Merle." He said shortly, stuffing a cracker heaped with tuna into his mouth. "Merle and Daryl, that's creative." She said and smirked. "I don't really know why I was called Gabriel. My mom used to say it's because I was her angel..."

"Quiet." Daryl said cutting her off and reached for his crossbow. He'd thought he'd heard a walker, he silently walked to the living room and glanced at Gabriel. "Did you lock the door?" She shook her head and pulled a knife out of her belt strap. "Take this one." Daryl said and handed her his knife, no way a girl was fighting a walker with cutlery on his watch. She took it and nodded to him.

Daryl walked over to shut and lock the door while he sent Gabriel to look for the trespasser. Silently he moved through the house to the garage where he heard the redhead laughing. He saw her sitting on top of a white minivan as the Walker clawed at the windows trying to reach her. She noticed him standing in the doorway, baffled. "They're stupid aren't they?" She said as she drove the knife into the gray skin of its head. "I put a chair right there for it to follow me up here," she said and pointed. "but he just ignored it and kept on trying to reach me." He smiled. The world was ending and she was having fun frustrating a walker.

"You're a strange little girl..." He said as they walked to the living room. "I'm not a little girl, I'm 18. It's just you who's old." He eyed her as she fell down onto a couch and stretched herself out, exposing the light skin between her jeans and shirt. "I'm 29." Daryl said as he placed his bow on the coffee table and took a seat on the leather couch. For him it wasn't weird living in other people's houses anymore, he was used to it.

"Do you have any other family? I mean, except for Merle and your dad." "Yeah, my mom, she loved to smoke. I always told her that it would be the death of her, but I just thought something more in the line of cancer. But she was in bed, smoking as usual when the house caught fire." "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter." Daryl untied his boots and threw them to the side. Gabriel did the same. "Get some rest tomorrow's gon be a long day." He said and closed his eyes, he was tired of talking.

"So she liked having the advantage of being high up?" T-dog asked. "Yeh, as I said, she was short. Probly a head shorter than me. She knew how to stay alive by using their stupidity against them." Daryl stood and stretched, it was getting cold. "She seems a joy to be around, was she always funny?" Daryl looked at Lori and shook his head. "Not in the least bit, she was serious and hard and sometimes even mean, but her jokes and sarcasm was how she coped with it all." He stood still and paused before he started speaking again. "We came to a house a few miles from the next city. As usual, we cleared the rooms to make sure no walker was hidin' there. She went to the back yard and found a little boy, about seven years old, chained to a tree. I stood by the door, just listening to what she was saying. She told him that it would be okay and that he would be with his parents in a little while. She was crying as she said that she had never had a family, only her older brother who was now dead. She was alone. Then she stuck the blade into his head. She came to me and told me that the kid needed to be bathed more often and chuckled. That was the first time I'd seen her not in control. We didn't stay in that house, there was no food and it smelled as if someone had left a rotting cow in there. We moved to the barn at the far back, there weren't no walkers there."

"I think we should go hunting tomorrow morning." Gabriel said as she placed a blanket on the straw covered floor. Daryl had cleared one of the stables in the barn and made sure to close all the doors. They were both hungry, over the past few months Daryl had lost allot of weight, and it showed. Two weeks had passed since he had met Gabriel, he had learned to ignore most of her questions and only speak when it was necessary. They had to take a much longer route than they originally planned because they had run into a horde of walkers, three hundred at the very least. Daryl set his bike on fire and waited for the explosion in order to get their attention. They had to walk the rest of the way.

"_Can_ you hunt?" Daryl asked as he lay down on the blanket. "With my knives yes, I can hit moving objects, but I can't use a gun." She said as she lay down next to him. They both stared at the roof of the barn. It was dark and hard to see anything, but they could make out the cracks in the roof as the moonlight shone through. "Get some rest, we start tomorrow first thing."


	5. Don't take my things

"Could she really hunt?" Beth asked as she straitened up a bit. "_Could she hunt?_" Daryl smiled and looked to the sky as he said: "She couldn't track and she'd no idea 'bout luring them out, but I ain't never seen no one who could throw a knife into a jackrabbits head like her, clean through, every time." "So had a bit of competition then?" Daryl looked at Beth as he answered her question. "Nah, no matter how many times I asked, she refused to kill anything bigger than a possum." Daryl smiled at the thought. His stomach was full and he was tired. "That's enough sharin' from my side. Night." He said and rested his head on his arms as he gazed at the stars. Then he remembered the night when they were found by a group he would love to cut apart if they ever crossed paths again.

They hadn't found a house and had decided to sleep under the stars. It was a big risk to take. They had set up a perimeter and made sure that no walkers were around to grab them. "I'll take first watch." Daryl said as he sat at the foot of the dark blue blanket, watching Gabriel take off her white leather jacket. He looked closer and saw that on the back of the jacket, two wings were stitched out in black thread. "Nice jacket." Daryl said to her. "Thanks, my brother gave it to me when I got my first motorbike. It was this small scrambler that he had fixed up for me. I rode it _once_, smashed it into a wall." Daryl laughed a bit at this then his face went back to its usual hardness.

She was asleep when he heard the crunching of leaves. It was brief, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He saw a dark shape a few yards away from him and as he lifted his bow to shoot the figure, he was struck down from behind. The last thing he remembered was a man with a thick beard hauling a screaming Gabriel over his shoulder.

An owl was hooting in the trees when Daryl woke up, his head hurt as if he had a hangover. He lay it down and closed his eyes. Then suddenly he was on his feet and running to where Gabriel was sleeping the night before. The blanket was vacant. "Gabriel!" he shouted then shoved the white jacket and the blanket into the girl's bag. He looked around for his crossbow, but it was gone. He cursed. He saw the knife before he found the tracks. It was the one he had given her, and it was drenched in blood. "Smart girl." He said as he looked for the trail of blood. It was faint, but it was there.

Two walkers were nothing to him, he killed the smaller one first with two blows to the head, and then the big one he stabbed through the left eye with the bone hilted knife. "Wrong day to run into me you sun's a bitches." He said as he walked away from the corpses.

The camp site consisted of six RV's parked in an uneven circle, in the middle was a fire and animal skeletons scattered on the ground. He heard her screams from the yellowish trailer and ran to it in a crouched position to make sure he wasn't seen. The windows were closed and blocked his view inside. The knife in his hand reeked of Walker blood as he bought it up his head. Slowly he opened the door of the RV.

The floor was littered with Gabriel's grey shirt and large black pants. Anger flamed inside of Daryl when he saw her blindfolded on the floor with the bearded man standing over her. She was sobbing in between screams. "Hey you fat ass mother fucker." Daryl said and threw the knife as the man turned around. It lodged itself inches from the man's heart and he fell down, screaming.

Daryl ran over and kneeled next to Gabriel, he removed the blindfold and the bounds around her arms. Her eyes were huge, she was so scared. He looked at her and as if realizing his mistake, he took off his leather jacket and put it around her. "Now you stay here while I go deal with the situation." He said and left her. Daryl grabbed the man's shotgun on his way out.

"Witch one of you sorry sonsabitches has my bow?!" He yelled out to whoever was listening. "I want it back or I'll start killing you off one by one!" A young man came out of the nearest RV and was struggling with loading his gun. "Who's got my crossbow?" He asked holding up the gun. The man picked up one of the caps that fell to the ground. "I ain't gonna ask you again. Who has my fucking bow?" "Go to hell." The man said and held up his rifle. "You first." Daryl said and shot.

Three men came out, two unarmed and one with Daryl's crossbow. The man shot an arrow an it missed Daryl, sinking into the side of an RV. "Why'd you go on wasting a perfectly good arrow?" Daryl said and shot the man. He fell to the ground screaming in pain. "I just wanted my bow." He said and retrieved it. "Take my things ever again and I will skin you and feed you to the walkers." He said as he walked to where Gabriel was hiding. She was fully dressed now with Daryl's Jacket hanging loosely around her shoulders. "Let's go." He said as he took her by the hand.

Daryl shut his eyes tightly and turned to his side. He had asked her if they did anything to her, she replied by simply shaking her head as her tears traveled down her cheeks.


	6. Just lines

Five weeks from that night had passed and they had almost reached Atlanta. Daryl wanted to make sure Gabriel had all the time she needed to calm down after the attack. They stayed in the same house for more than a week, it was a modern farmhouse, the water supply came from an outdoor pump and the kitchen was fully stocked.

When they finally did leave, Daryl made sure that he had packed enough food into Gabriel's backpack to last them a few days. They had also hunted as they made their way to the city, never trailing too far from the road. Only when the occasional group of walkers came their way. On the way to the city He had lost two arrows, he desperately in need of more.

"Favourite colour." She said as they walked over one of the first bridges that went to Atlanta. They city was visible just over the horizon. "No I dunno, brown." Daryl replied shifting the weight of his crossbow to the other shoulder. "You're boring." She said as she stuck her hands into her jean's pockets. "I mean, you don't have a favourite movie, and your favourite colour is _brown_." "What's wrong with brown?" He wasn't one for playing games or talking about himself, he'd much rather be alone. But he couldn't just leave the girl alone.

"What's Merle like?" She said after a long moment of silence. Every time she spoke he could hear that she was starting to lose her English accent and was drifting to the more _Southern _way of speaking. She wasn't leaving out her "r"'s anymore and he once heard her contract some of her words. "Merle's taken care of me for most of my life, he went to Juvie allot for things he did. He thinks he's a good leader, but most of the times he's just an asshole." He expected her questions to keep coming, but they didn't all she said was: "Oh."

The setting sun cast a golden light over the city. Daryl was staring out of an apartment building's window. They had decided to stay there for the remainder of the evening and then get his brother the next morning. He smelled the food Gabriel was preparing on the gas oven that she had somehow got to work. His stomach growled loudly. "How much food we got left?" He asked, still staring out of the window. "This is the last bit of rabbit. I found some canned beef but I put that in my bag for another day, you never know." He nodded and closed the curtain. They had lit a few candles with his lighter and they cast a warm glow in the small room.

He sat on the dining room chair as Gabriel put half the rabbit into his plate and took the other for herself. She didn't speak about that night, come to think of it, she didn't speak much lately. Just the occasional flood of questions or remarks, but that was it.

It was late, past midnight probably. Daryl was sitting on the couch, drinking away at a bottle of Jack Daniel's he had found. He wasn't drunk, but he felt the carelessness wash over him. He didn't care that they wouldn't survive another day, he didn't care that the world was ending, but mostly he didn't care that his brother could be dead. He just sat there, staring at the open window, not thinking, just being.

He hadn't noticed that Gabriel came into the room, he just looked at her as she sat beside him. He must've looked horrible, all red eyes and dirty face. His eyes trailed from her hair to her shoulders, she was much leaner than he had originally thought. She wasn't bone skinny, feminine muscles moved under her light skin as she settled into the couch. They moved down to her legs then up to those green eyes. "You got pretty eyes." He said then regretted it. He was clearly much drunker than he thought he was.

She smiled as she tucked her feet under herself and leaned her head against Daryl's shoulder. She was sleeping on his shoulder when he ran his hand over her braided hair. He didn't like what he was feeling, so he pushed it away. He threw the blue blanket over her and made his way to one of the empty rooms to sleep.

The sun was already high in the sky when they left the apartment. Daryl remembered that there was an arrow on the kitchen table and ran up to get it, Gabriel stayed behind and waited for his return.

He grabbed the arrow and made his way back when he saw four lines carved into the door of the apartment entrance. He skipped down the stairs two at a time and asked Gabriel. "Did you make those marks on the apartment door?" She nodded. "What are they?" He asked as they silently walked passed a limping Walker. "Just lines."

Daryl woke with the rest of his group, he wasn't hungry so he skipped on breakfast and went to the lookout tower to see if any walkers were causing trouble. He sat down after making sure everything was acceptable. "Where'd you find your brother?" Daryl turned around and looked up at Carl. "Don't you go sneakin' up on an armed man, it's not safe." Carl apologized and took a seat next to the older man.

"He wasn't in the prison, so we followed a trail of dead walkers to a huntin' shop. It was secure from Walkers, but the second floor window was open by the fire escape. Merle's allot of things, but he ain't stupid. He knew he'd need a way out, or I'd need a way in."

"Merle!" Daryl called and held up his crossbow. Two arrows would have to keep them alive until he could get to the first floor where he knew the arrows would be kept. Gabriel kept close behind him, making sure not to step on any of the dead walkers. The second floor was clear of any life, so was the first. Daryl called out again, and then again. And finally a reply came.


	7. Promises

"Daryl Fucking Dixon, am I happy to see you brother." Merle walked out from behind one of the shelves that stocked camping equipment. Daryl grabbed his brother and hugged him. "How'd you get out?" He said and released the older man. "The prison guard dun' got bit by a Chomper. Les' just say it was easier than lurin' a fat kid to a sweet shop. I grabbed the keys and hauled my ass out. Came here first to stock up, ended up stayin' a hell'a lot longer than planned." Daryl saw his brother's attention shift from his face to something, or rather someone behind him. "Well hello there sweetheart." Merle said as he walked passed his brother to where Gabriel was standing.

Daryl noticed her looking from him to his brother and back, then she said. "Well I can see the family resemblance." Merle laughed his screeching laugh. "What's wrong with her voice?" He asked and looked to Daryl. "She's English, ya shoulda' heard her the first day I met her." He said and grabbed five packs of arrows from the shelf. "Her name's Gabriel."

"Ain't you a lovely lookin' Angel. I'm Merle Dixon, the handsomer of us two." He greeted her by taking her hand in his and giving it a kiss. He was looking her up and down as if she was a piece of meat. Daryl felt himself tense then his posture immediately softened when he saw her pull her hand away and cross her arms awkwardly. Her eyes darted to him, then down at the floor. Could she really be scared that Merle was going to do to her what those assholes with the RV's did?

He shook his head and ignored the thought, this was Merle, his brother, no way he'd go do something like that. "Who else is with ya?" Daryl knew the real question Merle wanted to ask, so he shook his head and replied. "It's just us two." "You shot him dead?" Daryl nodded. "Then that son a' bitch got what he deserved."

"Was he already a walker when you shot him?" Carl interrupted. Daryl sighed. "My daddy wasn't a good man, he was always drunk, he said and did bad things." Daryl looked down at the Sheriff's son. "Go see if you can help with somethin' down there." Carl nodded and made his way down. Daryl saw Rick smiling at the boy as the two of them walked to the inside of the prison. How would he have turned out like if his father had been more like Rick? He immediately shook his head and let go of the thought.

He was sleeping on his stomach in the sleeping bag he'd taken from one of the display hooks on the wall. The shop was darkened by the night when Daryl left Merle and Gabriel to talk. It was Merle's turn to be questioned into oblivion. He drifted in and out of sleep, constantly wondering if she would be okay with him. He told himself that this was Merle, he could trust his own blood, couldn't he?

He was just fading into unconsciousness when he heard muffled protesting screams from Gabriel, they were soft and at first he thought that he had imagined it. But when he heard it again he bolted upright and grabbed his crossbow, running to the candle lit clearing in the far end of the room. Merle's hand was clutched tightly over Gabriel's mouth, she was on her toes, pressed hard against the wall. "Let her go Merle." He said as he held up his bow, pointing it at his brother's head.

Merle let go of her and she ran over to Daryl, standing close behind him. "I just wanted to touch the bitch's pretty little legs, then she gone hostile and hit me. That wadn't nice."

"You don't _ever _touch her again." He growled at his brother. "Or what, you gon shoot me? I ain't 'fraid of you boy."

Daryl put his crossbow behind his back and looked down at Gabriel, her shoulders where hunched over as she walked and her face hung low. He looked closer. Her lower lip was bleeding her cheeks were red from where he had grabbed her. He wanted to comfort her, but how?

"It's all gon' be okay Gabriel, I'm not lettin' anyone hurt you again." He put his hand on the soft skin of her shoulder. He was looking in front of him when he whispered, more to himself. "I promise."


	8. Ain't no rest for the wicked

**_I couldn't find anything good on the white wings on Daryl's jacket, so this is how I think it went._**

**This song is the one I think describes Merle Dixon and the influence he has over Daryl the best. **

**Ain't no rest for the wicked- Cage the Elephant**

* * *

"How did she react to Merle when you found him?" Glen asked the afternoon while they were all sitting on the grass outside, taking a break from moving Walker's into a heap. Daryl sighed, he didn't like speaking about that part, so he just told the 'need to know' parts.

"She met him, and thought it was a good idea to let the two talk while I was sleeping. He got angry at her and hit her. I told her she'd be fine and that no one would hurt her again." Daryl stretched out his legs and fidgeted with one of his arrows. He was staring at the space in front of him as he continued his story.

Daryl woke up later than usual the next morning, as he turned to his side he saw Gabriel's empty sleeping bag. He walked around, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he called to her, when no reply came after a few minutes of shouting and calling, he stomped over to his brother and grabbed him by his shirt. "Where is she Merle?!" he said in a raspy voice.

"Don't go corner somethin' that you know is meaner than you." Merle said as he shoved his brother away. "Where's the girl?" he said as he grabbed his knife from his belt. "Oh, lil' miss perky nipples left this morning." Daryl was confused, he was looking at the floor he was confused, why would she leave? "Don't call her that." Daryl said. "What? I can't call her a bitch with a fine ass? Just 'cause you ain't man enough to take her, doesn't mean nobody else's gonna. See, the Chomper Catastrophe's short on two things, women, and cold bear. See what you don't realize is, she's made you gone soft, oh if dad could see ya now, he'd laugh at your sorry lil' face." Daryl couldn't handle his brother breaking him, so he swung out with his fist, slamming it hard into his older brother's nose. Merle was bent over as he said; "Okay, so I pobly' deserved that, but what'cha gon do? Leave your family behind for some _chick? _That ain't how it works."

Daryl admitted, he wasn't going to choose some person her met only a few months ago over his own brother. He'd have to be bat shit crazy to do that. Instead of saying anything in his own defence, he just walked to where the sleeping bags were and saw Gabriel's white jacket tucked neatly under his sleeping bag. As he picked it up, a piece of paper fell out with a note scrawled on it in blue ink. It read: 'I'd rather get eaten by a Walker, than be touched by another man again.' That hurt him, it hurt him deeper than it probably should've.

He flipped the note over and read the rest. 'Thanks for being my guardian angel.' He shoved the note into his leather jacket's pocket and took his knife in his hand, he gripped it tight as he tossed the white jacket into his sleeping bag, making sure Merle wouldn't find it.

He went out the same way he had gotten in, through the window in the second floor. He thrust the knife into a walkers head making it fall to the ground. Then he kicked it, with every blow went a word. "You useless. Stinkin'. Motherless. Toxic. Bastard." The words were aimed more at himself than at the dead Walker. He hated himself now. He was a bad person, he always would be. No use in trying to be good. People like him weren't good.

Seven more came trudging around the corner and Daryl started killing them off one by one. "Grow a pair of balls while you're down there, you're not fit to be a Dixon you piece of shit." He heard his brother say from the fire escape. That only added fuel to his anger and he stabbed three more, then another six. He was killing everything in sight. Shoving all his emotions and feelings deep into a dark place in his mind. He was shutting everyone and everything out. From now on it would be him and his brother. He wasn't concentrating on what he was doing. Not really looking, just killing to let all of his anger out. There was a gap, no walkers came around the corners of the alley. Daryl lifted his knife when he heard the fast pace of running feet, as he moved his hand down for the killing blow, he saw that it wasn't a Walker, but an Asian kid wearing a hat.

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Glen said waving his finger around. "You were covered in Walker blood when I came around the corner with a pack of not dead dead people behind me. I was scared, I really thought you'd kill me right then and there." Glen smiled. Daryl gave him a menacing look and went on with his story.

Merle wasn't keen on letting the kid into his space. Even less so at letting him eat some of their food. "Mind if I stock up on a few things? Were' pretty low on gear." He asked Daryl who nodded. "Just this once." Merle replied, "Then you'll be on your way. And I don't want to catch your stupid Asian ass around here again." "I'm Korean." He said as he started packing things into his bag.

Daryl was sitting with his legs sprawled out in front of him as he carefully cut out the white wings from the soft leather jacket. He used a fishhook and some line to work the material onto the back of his own sleeveless jacket. He shrugged it on and put his hunting knife, the one he hadn't given to Gabriel, into his belt. He slung his crossbow and a holder with as many arrows as he could manage onto his back and started for the fire escape were Merle and the kid was already waiting.

"What took you so long? You finally took that tampon out of your ass?" Merle said as they jumped onto the street below. "We'll take you as far as that fence over there, then you're on your own." Daryl said as he pointed to the chain link fence a few yards from the alley.

They had reached the fence and Daryl gave a final warning to the boy. "Don't you go tellin' your group 'bout this place. 'Cause I swear I'll kill every last fucking one of them." His brother approved this by nodding his head at Daryl.


	9. Take these broken wings

Little over two years had passed since Gabriel had left. She was now nothing more than a long forgotten memory stored away in the depths of Daryl Dixon's mind. His brother had told him that caring for people wouldn't keep them alive. Responsibility on the other hand was what was important. Merle was responsible for Daryl and Vice Versa, nothing in between.

"Yo Merle, I'm going huntin' for some dinner. You go get us somethin' to drink, I'm thinking some of that Macallan shit." He yelled to his brother as he ran his fingers through his long and tangled hair to push it out of his eyes. He needed to cut it, but he could never find a good enough reason to. He didn't wait for his brother's reply as he easily slid down the fire escape into the alley.

Spring was just beginning and Daryl could already feel his shirt sticking to his skin. "Damn heat, makin' you stupid Walkers stink even more..." He said as he drove his knife into the skull of a teenage girl.

It was a ten minute walk to the outer perimeter of the forest. A high wall separated the concrete from the jungle. No way in, no way out, unless you were willing to walk to one of the many entrances and exits on the other side of the city. Daryl had found an easy way to get to the other side by going through the rainwater drain that ran under the stone wall.

He jumped inside the drain and closed the hatch behind him, making sure no Walkers were near. A bag with a few extra supplies hung on one of the water meters; they never knew when they would need to leave at a moment's notice.

He checked to see if all the supplies were still there and suddenly sent a stream of angry growls flying from his mouth. His peanut butter was gone. This was the second time since the beginning of winter that it had happened. First he blamed Merle who just laughed it off, then just thought he had misplaced it. But the same thing twice couldn't be a coincidence.

Daryl spent the entire afternoon tracking a deer until he came across four lines scratched in the wood of a young tree. He knew these lines from somewhere. It took him a minute to remember but as soon as he did he whispered the name; "Gabriel."

He walked from tree to tree, looking for any other signs. There was only one more, a much deeper cut into the wood. He looked closer to figure out what it was, then realized that it resembled two outstretched wings. She took this angel thing a bit far. He looked closely at the ground as well for an indication that she might have been there, an old fire, or a few kicked up leaves, but he found nothing.

He'd given up completely on finding her and successfully caught a few squirrels. There was no chance he would find, kill and drag a deer back this late in the afternoon.

Daryl was on his way back to the city when something flew past his head and stuck itself in a tree. He stared in front of him at the bone hilted knife. He pulled it from the tree and stared at it. As he turned in the direction of his attacker, a short girl with red curls kicked him to the ground. He was clutching his stomach when he heard her speak. "Who're you and why're you following me?" She asked and held a knife to his face. He was astonished at her voice, her English accent was completely gone. He stared at her, then in a matter of seconds seized her arm and stood behind her, holding his arms firmly around her neck. She was on her knees, her head facing away from him. "I ain't gotta tell you nothin'." He said and secured his grip, making sure not to hurt her, only to keep her still.

"Chokeholds are illegal." She said as she struggled to free herself. "Yeh, I don't think that law applies anymore." He says as he pushed her forward while letting her go. She was still on the ground when she turned and looked at him. "Daryl?" He heard her gasp and immediately she was against him, her arms wrapped around his filthy body. He was shocked. Was she really happy to see him? He awkwardly placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away.

"You ain't got no right to do that." Daryl said as his voice cracked. He pushed the back of his hand over his eyes quickly to make sure no tears started falling. He could see she was upset, but he had to push her away. She would only hurt him more. "I thought we were friends." She said and stared at his hidden face. "Well ya thought wrong. Ya left me alone, didn't even say bye. Jus' left this stupid note!" he yelled as he pulled the old rumpled piece of paper out of his leather jacket's pocket.

She was sad, her eyes were red and teary. He had to look away from her, this was too much... He turned around and looked at the sky. He needed to breathe, he needed to calm himself. But as soon as his back was turned to her he regretted it. He was wearing the same leather jacket that he used to put the white wings on, they were much dirtier now, but they were still very visible.

"You cut up my wings? Why would you do that" She said and stared at him in disbelief. "Just take em' back then!" he screamed as he took off the jacket and threw it at her feet, the sun was blazing down in his bare back when he heard her take in a sharp breath.

"Did your daddy do that to you?" she said as she approached him. Her fingers reached out to touch the dark purple scars on his back. He spun around and pushed past her grabbing the jacket from the ground and hurriedly put it back on.

"He beat me with a crowbar once 'cause I called him by his first name. He said I was a disrespectful and ungrateful son of a bitch." He fastened the buckle of the jacket as he told her. "And once he shoved me down a flight of stairs cause I wasn't goin' fast enough..." He was breathing heavily and could feel the tears well up behind his eyes. "He beat me and he kicked me, but he always made sure that the bruises wouldn't be seen. He said he'd kill me if I'd tell anyone."

"Daryl calm down." Gabriel whispered to him as she rested her hand on his face. She pulled his head down to her level and brushed her lips against his cheek. "It's all going to be alright." She whispered in his ear and he felt Goosebumps traveling down his spine.

"No it ain't. You say that so you can make me fall for you again, then you're just gonna go right on and leave me like you did b'fore." He backed away from her, he didn't want to, but he couldn't trust anyone but Merle.

"Wait, you fell for me?" Out of anything she could've said. All the questions she could've asked, that was the one she chose? He saw that smile of hers as she looked at him with her pretty green eyes.

He looks at her through his mess of hair, half a smile on his face. He was glad he was so dirty otherwise she would've seen his cheeks redden. He nodded slightly. "Yeh, yeh I did..."

He was staring at her smiling face, did he just admit to that? He was in deep shit now.

* * *

**Some reviews would be cool***


	10. Alcohol

Daryl dixon's mind travelled to the first time he went out looking for Gabriel, he had thought that he'd seen her sitting by the river, staring out at the crystal blue water, but the wasn't there when he went closer. He'd spent the entire evening and most of the night searching. He had went back to the shop they stayed in and was confronted by a raging mad Merle.

_The two brothers were seated opposite each other on the cold concrete flood. Nothing between them but Merle's words. "So let me get this straight, you didn't go huntin' for food today 'cause you thought you saw the girl? The heaven's save me from this pussy you've become. My brother, more keen on finding some immigrant chick than keeping the two of us alive. What do you think you'll do when you find her? Marry her while I rub your redneck feet? Cause that what you are, nothing but a stupid hick. You know how long I spent trying to make a man of you, and what do I get? A pansy ass child who don't know his sex drive from his hunting instinct! She ran away cause you're a freak, nothing but redneck trash. She's probly' out there drinkin' tea with the queen, laughing behind your back. Just remember, she aint your kin. Blood before anything else." _

"How old are ya now?" Daryl asked, he had to know, that was his last question, then he was going to leave. She did it to him once, he would only be returning the favour. "20 as of the end of Autumn." Daryl clenched his teeth and could taste blood in his mouth. She was 11 years younger than him. He was no better than all those men that wanted to do bad things to her.

"You best be leavin now." He said as he picked up his crossbow, his arrows and the string of dead rodents. "I don't understand..." she said, her voice was shaky.

"Are you stupid? I said leave woman! Go on get." He said and kicked up the dead leaves beneath his feat. He was shooing her away like a dog. Because what life would she possibly want to have with someone like him? He'd promised to take her with him when they got the bike working, nothing more. It was just a lift to the city.

Here he'd gone telling the redhead that he had fallen for her. That was stupid. He wasn't thinking with the right head. He turned and left, adjusting his bow on his shoulder. "And don't you take my fucking peanut butter again."

"Yo what took you so long?" Merle asked as Daryl dropped the squirrels on the floor. "You got the drink?" He asked, staring as Merle rummaged three bottles out of his bag. He needed to erase the entire evening from his mind. Not just shove it down, but completely forget that it ever happened. He was going to drink himself into an alcohol induced coma and sleep until it all went away.

More than half a bottle of whiskey later, Daryl spoke. "You know that Asian kid that was here all those years ago?" Merle nodded, not nearly as drunk as his brother. "Well we emptied this part of the city and the other half's overrun with Walkers. I say we take their camp, rob 'em blind and go find a house or somethin'." Merle's eyebrows raised. "I like your thinkin' brother. But how you supposin' we find him? Not lie they'd leave a bread trail." "He's been coming and going through the city for a while now, it wouldn't be hard just followin' him." Daryl beamed as his brother patted him on the back. "You're turnin' into a real Dixon, lil' bro."

He'd consumed more whiskey than was healthy for a living person, and he felt good. His view of the mirror was blocked by his unnecessary amount of hair. Did he really look so different that the redhead didn't know who he was? He had started growing a beard and hadn't properly cleaned himself for weeks.

He took the knife he used for skinning animals and dragged it through a knot of hair. Then again and again until he was satisfied. It was cut neat and short. Merle was already asleep when Daryl took the bottle that was a little over half from him and swallowed it down. He couldn't see infront of him as he stumbled onto his sleeping bag and stared at the ceiling while he cried. He chased away the first person he'd ever told about what his father did, that he ever thought he stood a chance with. His redheaded green eyed girl...

He gripped the blade of the knife in his fist and felt better as the blood started dripping from the wound. What was he thinking? She wasn't his. It was him and his brother against the world.


	11. Little beard

Merle and Daryl had packed what they needed. Sleeping bags, food, water and weapons, loads of weapons. Daryl was tracking and Merle was scouting. The two of them working together like well oiled gears. Neither of them interfering with the other.

"Yo Merle! You think we could take a quick detour? I found some fresh dear tracks, it's big!" Daryl shouted as he walked quietly through the underbrush of the forest. He spotted the animal ahead of him, it was cautiously grazing at tree roots when it realized it was being watched. The animal turned its head and stared at where Daryl was hiding, its ears darted back and forth as it sniffed the air.

Slowly he raised his bow and took a deep breath, tightened his grip, and fired. The arrow zoomed silently through the air and struck the deer just above the space between its tear ducts. With a soft thump it fell to the ground and Daryl heard his brother clapping. "Ain't that an impressive shot." He said as he emerged from behind a tree.

Daryl only shrugged and started cutting open the deer, taking a step back as the blood and guts spilled out.

They hung the now headless dear high enough up in a tree to make sure no passing walker would be able to reach it. "We'll come back for it when we find the group, we'll want 'em to think that they need us. They won't expect us to take over their camp if they trust us. So their guard won't be up."

"The only reason you joined the group was because you wanted to take it for yourselves?" Lori asked accusingly. "Like you expected anything less from two rednecks with a butt load of weapons." Daryl bit back. "Anyways, a week later Merle went with Glen and the others to the city for a supply run, and we all know how that turned out for him." He stared at Rick.

"Ya'll remember when I went lookin' for Sofia and found that farmhouse? I said that whoever stayed in the supply closet couldn't have been very big? I thought it was Sofia who stayed there, hell, I had to believe it was her." Daryl started telling the story.

"Hershel's stupid horse threw me off a cliff, and to make things even worse, one of my own fucking arrows ended up in my side. So there I was, soaking wet in a mix of water and my own blood, barely able to grasp at what had just happened. I heard some rustling in the bushes, but no moaning. Which was strange 'cause usually those bastards don't shut up. I knew I had to get my bow and scram. A while later when I fell again after trying to climb out I hallucinated a bit... Merle was there, kept telling me to get my shit together and save my own sorry behind, cause no one was gonna do it for me. And he did a damn good job in giving me a pep talk. I'd killed two walkers and dragged myself up the cliff, in that time I had lost most of my decent mind. He was right, you people made me soft. The steep climb didn't bother me, neither did the pain in my head and my side... It was that walk back to the farm that got to me."

Daryl moved around in his seat on one of the stainless steel stools that was bolted to the ground. He had sat on bricks that were more comfortable than those shiny demons under his ass. "So anyway, I stumbled a mile or so into the wrong direction and sat beneath a tree, talking to myself about some random bull shit that I'd thought was important at the time. I thought I was gonna die right there form blood loss or somethin', then I heard her voice in my ears; 'get up you lazy prick.'" Daryl smiled for a moment, those five words had given him more willpower than both his brother's entire speeches put together had managed.

"I couldn't decide which hallucination was more vivid, the read head's or my brothers. She half carried me as I spoke to her about the pretty flowers and the trees and little Sofia, I told her that I should've looked harder for her. That I shouldn't have ever given up. And that I wasn't going to give up with Sofia." He remembered they had stopped just before the line of trees ended, she told him she couldn't go further. He had taken her face into his hands and kissed her as if he would never get to have her near him again. He hadn't cared for the blood around his mouth from the squirrel he had eaten only for the vivid illusion that was in fron of him. "Your little beard suits you, you should keep it." She had said as she disappeared into the forest. Without any other words.

"Then I got back and Andrea almost killed me. Only a few days later when I washed my clothes I found strands of Gabriel's red hair on my shirt, that's how I knew that she was real and still alive."

"Did you ever see her after that?" Beth asked as shyly.

Daryl nodded. "Yeh, when we reclaimed the prison, I was up in the guard tower with Carol. I saw her in the distance, she waved and then ran. Just that one time..."


	12. Banned

Daryl Dixon sat on his mattress; his legs were stretched out in front of him and his brows pulled tight together as Beth cleaned the cut on his face where Rick had punched him. The two men had gotten into a fistfight when Daryl accused him of being weak for not being able to kill the Governor. And now his brother was dead.

"What're you going to do now?" Beth asked quietly as she sat down next to Daryl on the small bed. "I'll probly' leave an' go lookin' for Gabriel. She's out there somewhere..." He said and looked at the girl beside him. "You'll take good care of lill' Ass Kicker for me." He saw her smile and nod.

Daryl patted her arm awkwardly as he took his crossbow and worn out backpack and left without another word. He wasn't big on saying "good bye."

His brother's custom bike was waiting outside for him, Carol had packed enough supplies into the leather bags to last at least a week. She was waiting for him at the gate.

"I can talk to Rick, convince him to let you stay." she said before she opened the chain link gate. Daryl shook his head. "Nah, it's best I leave now before we kill each other." he could see carol was sad, but he had to go.

He'd promised himself that if he found Gabriel he would bring her back, and that was exactly why he needed to leave.

After a hug from Carol and a wave to Carl, he sped through the gates and onto the road, ignoring the Walkers slowly pursuing him. He prayed to himself in hopes that Gabriel hadn't travelled too far from the general area. She knew how to get food and supplies, and Daryl knew where the jackpot would be.

Woodbury. Abandoned and walker infested, but stocked and open for the taking.

Daryl revved the bike and it zoomed over the familiar tar road. He was losing daylight.

7 years had passed since he saw her on the roof of that truck, fighting off Walkers with kitchen knives. He was happy with her, it was strange for Daryl to admit it, but he liked her company. 3 years ago when the two of them met again in the forest, his head was talked full of bullshit by Merle and he chased her away. He was so stupid.

What was he going to say when he got to her? 'Hi, my bad for bein' a dick, forgive me?' Unfortunately that wasn't going to work.

The gates of the town were wide open, here and there a Walker was standing around, waiting for its next meal. Daryl parked his bike between a house and an antique shop, making sure that it was mostly hidden from sight.

Silently he walked up the road to where he knew the grocery store would be, it was his first guess as to where she might be. When his group had taken the school bus with all of the residents inside, they didn't stop there for the supplies.

The entire front of the shop was made of glass and the inside was decorated with dead, crumbled flowers. He could see why Michone didn't want to stay. In the light, the entire place looked too happy for the end of the world, and neither them did _happy. _Four dead walkers littered the entrance, Daryl silently stopped over them and then found two more decapitated a few feet to the left. The pitch black blood was still sticky which meant that it couldn't have been dead for more than an hour.

As Daryl wandered around the stocked isles he found a rolled up sleeping bag, small grunge backpack with a few strands of colourful leather straps tied to it and his bone hilted knife. It was Gabriel's without a doubt. "Gabriel!" He called out, hoping that she was still in the shop. Leave it to her to leave all her belongings in one place while she went out exploring. He put the knife into his belt and slung the other two items over his shoulder.

With his crossbow loaded Daryl walked down one of the isles, he was sure he'd seen movement on the other side of the pay point. But as he neared it, there was nothing. Gabriel had done a great job at clearing this place out, he admitted to himself with a grunt.

When he was absolutely sure that there was no sign of anything living or dead in the grocery store, he walked back to where the Gabriel's belongings had originally been. The sky had already turned into a darkish blue, here and there lonely stars were starting to appear. He opened the sleeping bag and lay himself down, he was tired, his body hurt from the beating it had taken from Rick and all he wanted was for his muscles to relax. But they wouldn't it was too cold for a good night sleep.

"Daryl, that you?" A female voice rang in his ears. His eyes shot open and immediately he was on his feet, facing the owner of the voice. It was Gabriel.

Daryl jumped to his feet and immediately regretted it. His head spun and he couldn't see for about a second, he should've eaten something yesterday. But he hadn't his body was being sustained by adrenalin that hadn't stopped flowing since he had the fall-out with Rick.

"Want something to eat?" Daryl nodded, she was too calm. He slowly followed her down one of the bigger isles to where the canned foods were. All the time eyeing her like she was a poisonous snake.

"Where's Merle?" She asked slowly, all her attention on opening a can of beef with a small knife that he hadn't seen before.

"He's dead." Daryl said and he saw her hands freeze for a brief moment, then she continued. "I'm sorry." she said while passing the can to him. "Can I have my knife?" she asked, holding out her hand. He nodded. "Why did you leave your stuff here?" "I had to go pee, but a few walkers cut me off before I got back and I spent the night in the bakery down the street."

She started walking and he followed her, her red curls were tied up in a ponytail high on her head. "You seem different..." He said cautiously, not wanting to sound offensive. "I've been on my own for a little less than five years." She paused.

"Two months ago I found this old lady all on her own in a small house near here. She said that her children had left her some supplies, then up and left. I lived with her for seven weeks, then she had a heart attack and died, only she wasn't dead, she was one of them... I realised that no one could be saved anymore, and that staying alive was more important than being happy."

Daryl huffed and put the now empty can onto the counter, he knew exactly what she meant. He silently stared at her while she was rolling up her sleeping bag and tied it securely to her bag.

"I thought you were dead..." He blurted out, almost immediately regretting the words.

She stood up quietly, her green eyes were staring into his blue ones. She hesitantly moved forward and put her arms around his middle and lay her head on his chest. Slowly and awkwardly he embraced her, he didn't like human contact, but this much he was willing to do for her.

It was strange being so close to her again, she felt different. Her features were sharper and her thin dangly arms had small muscles that flexed when she moved. Daryl felt her chest rise and fall, it was so soothing. She seemed more tired now that she didn't have to worry about protecting herself for this vulnerable moment. Her entire body was leaning against him for support, he liked the feeling of being there to support the girl.

He felt two soft hands trailing from his chest up to his face, the fingers where short and thin but they caused his skin to feel as if someone had set fire to it. She elevated herself onto her toes and tilted her head up, her lips brushed his, very softly. He was hesitant, he had kissed her once before, but that was when he thought she was nothing more than a hallucination.

But now she was real. He bent his neck and enveloped Gabriel's soft lips with his, there was no rush, just those rosy lips against his. His hand rested on her face, he felt almost ashamed for touching her whit his dirty scarred hands. But she didn't seem to mind. She was caught up in him.


End file.
